Eden Isles Street Names
To anyone who's ever stopped and wondered, it is obvious how Eden Isles
was named. The words are symbols -- "Isles" because of the waterfront homes, and
"Eden" to represent the paradise that the neighborhood was planned to become.
Yet, unlike some subdivisions, there seems to be no common link among the names of our
streets. What could a constellation have to do with a windward passage, and what in the
world is a chimaera?
A connection does exist, at least among certain streets. To find it you
first need to find what the street names mean. Then it is clear that they are related to
water. From stars and fish to faraway places, they emphasize the fact that Eden Isles is
waterfront.
In world geography, the Windward Passage is the channel between Haiti
and Cuba that connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Chimaera Lane is named
after the chimaera, a saltwater fish related to rays and sharks.
Sirius Lane comes from the Dog Star, the brightest star in the sky.
Sailors used it and the other stars to navigate in the open seas, which also is probably
how Constellation Drive got its name. Along those celestial lines is Southern Star, once
the southernmost point in the neighborhood (Moonraker, although it extends farther south,
also was not originally part of Eden Isles).
Lorelei Circle is named after a cliff beside the Rhine River in
Germany. An echo can be heard at Lorelei, and a legend states that it is the song of a
siren with the same name. The siren supposedly lured sailors toward her and caused them to
drown in the fast-moving waters.
There are many streets, especially the ones which seem to be named
after people, whose significance is hard to guess. However, Pebble Beach Drive is a
definite exception to the rule. This street was originally part of Oak Harbor, not
Eden Isles, so the pattern does not apply to it. Since Oak Harbor's main feature would be
a golf course, Pebble Beach Drive was named after the famous Pebble Beach Golf Course in
California.
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